


you let your callous be your shield

by edling



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autistic Alphonse Elric, Autistic Edward Elric, Autistic Riza Hawkeye, Autistic Roy Mustang, gracia and elicia are not present sorry bros, i will add more tags as this goes along and i. remember them, not important but i think you should know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23047687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edling/pseuds/edling
Summary: He held up one hand, “Alright, just give me one minute, you two.” He didn’t expect any response from the older boy, but the younger one nodded again. Roy stood up and turned to the side, pulling out his phone and dialing a number. He hoped the man would pick up, at least.-------Edward and Alphonse Elric have been hanging around the alleys of Rush Valley for years. Acquainted with the people who lived there, but without a home themselves. All of that changes when they're found by a military officer by the name of Roy Mustang.aka the fic where roy finds the elric brothers in the middle of some crime committing and decides 'fuck i have to adopt these kids' with some gay moments on the side
Relationships: Edward Elric/Ling Yao, Riza Hawkeye/Maes Hughes/Roy Mustang
Comments: 5
Kudos: 60





	1. now this is your only plan

Ed stumbled as he was shoved, a familiar pain growing in his side as it smacked against the ground. He had gotten himself into trouble again, but this time was for a much different reason than his usual robbery, a much dumber reason at that.

Arm wrestling. He broke the man's automail arm during a regular arm wrestling match. He hadn’t meant to, but he got his automail from fucking Rush Valley, and they make the strongest shit out there. “YOU BASTARD.” The man yelled, starting to run at him again. Ed rolled to the side, effectively dodging his fist. The man wasn’t considerably strong or anything, especially with a busted automail limb, but he managed to get a couple good hits on Ed in the beginning of their fight. The moment the guy started swinging, Al had run off to get help. They were good friends with almost everyone who lived in Rush Valley, it shouldn’t be that hard, right? That’s what Ed thought at the beginning, but the fact that it had already been nearly 10 minutes with no sign of his younger brother was really saying something.

The man moved to hit again, but he was quickly countered as Ed jumped up from the ground, kicking the man in the process. Ed inwardly winced at the sound of his automail hitting him harshly in the face. It was at this point that Ed stood up and decided to finally take notice of his injuries. His right side ached from when he was shoved earlier, obviously, maybe hurt a few ribs in the process. He had to expect a bruise later, that’s for sure. His nose was bleeding—something he hadn’t noticed before—and he was pretty sure a bruise was beginning to form on the left side of his face. He silently hoped they’d heal quickly, he didn’t feel like walking around looking beat up like that. He wasn’t exactly a fan of the looks some people gave him.

His thoughts were interrupted when the man moved to get up from the ground, anger burning in his eyes. As much as he wanted to continue the fight, everything came to a halt as the sound of footsteps echoed through the alleyway from behind Ed, or rather, two sets of footsteps? ‘ _Good, Al must’ve finally gotten us some help._ ’ Ed thought as he turned. Any thought in his mind practically vanished, however, as he saw the man standing next to his brother was a man of the military. 

\-------

Tired couldn’t even begin to describe how Roy Mustang felt that afternoon. 

He had woken up earlier than normal, kicked awake by his sleeping wife, and hadn’t been able to get back to sleep. Eventually, he decided to give up his attempts and just go to work early. And oh, how _overjoyed_ he was to see the mountain of paperwork on his desk had only expanded. He got it done, sure, but at what cost? His energy, that’s what. God, he wanted nothing more than to hurry home and relax. His wife and husband had both taken work off that day, not for any real reason, they just wanted to lay around. It was understandable, it was fucking _hot_ outside. Any normal person would be inside as well. Yet, here he was, walking through Rush Valley. He had been gathering information for a case and had just finished up. 

It was at this moment that someone decided to interrupt his thoughts. A teen running up to him at full speed, actually. It stunned Roy for a moment as he watched the kid stop in front of him, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“Sir, sir, I apologize if i’m interrupting something but I really need your help!!” The boy raised his head, looking Roy in the eyes. His eyes were a deep gold color—a fact that caught Roy’s attention—and his hair was golden as well. He was wearing a white tank top and brown shorts but they were worn out as if they hadn’t been washed in a while, the same thing for his sandals. Honestly, he didn’t really want to help the kid, but he looked upset— _afraid_ even. It made the man concerned…

So, here he was, being led down the street by a frantic child. He wasn’t sure whether to regret his decision or not, and the scene he arrived at certainly didn’t help.

A boy who couldn’t be much older than the other was standing in the middle of an alleyway. Peering deeper inside, he could see a man standing there as well. The man was _much_ bigger than the boy, and from what he could tell he had a busted automail arm. _‘They must’ve gotten into a fight or something. Obviously, Mustang.’_ He thought to himself. In any case, the boy looked way more hurt in comparison to the older guy, and if they planned on continuing the fight, he sure wasn’t going to allow that. So, he stepped forward and drew his gun and pointed it to the man. In the corner of his eye he could see the teen scramble away from him, wide-eyed as the other boy began talking to him. Roy didn’t pay this any mind thought, at the moment he just wanted to make sure this man wouldn’t bother them anymore.

“Sir, it’s obvious to me that you’re causing these kids a great deal of trouble. I’m going to have to ask that you leave them alone, unless you want me to actually use this thing.” He warned, a smirk appearing on his face as the man’s eyes widened. He gave Roy a scowl as he quickly walked past them, clearly not wanting to get involved with the military. Roy let out a sigh before turning to the boys, assuming that they’re brothers.

“You two alright?” He asked.

The younger of the two turned to face him. “Ah, sir! I’m alright but, um—brother quit it! It’ll be fine…” He scolded his brother. The older one had been shaking his head furiously as he talked to Roy, making the man raise an eyebrow. He kneeled in front of the kid.

“Looks like you’re really hurt there, I could help you to a doctor if you’d like?” The kid only kept shaking his head. Roy blinked. “So..You can take care of all this yourself?” He actually stopped shaking his head, but the younger one seemed to continue for him. This was starting to get annoying..”Ok, can you at least tell me where your parents are so I can contact them?”

Now this caused _both_ boys to freeze. Their eyes seemingly glazed over, making Roy shiver. Then it clicked in his head. _Oh._

“You boys….don’t have parents, do you?” The older brother only flinched, but the younger hesitantly nodded in response. Fuck. Way to go, Roy.

Roy rested a hand on his chin as he began to think. These boys don’t have any parents, so where are they supposed to go? What kind of help are they supposed to get? One look at the older boy's face told him the kid wouldn’t want to go anywhere near a hospital, so he didn’t have many options. Where could these boys go where they would be welcomed and where the eldest could get the medical help he needed……

He didn’t need to think for long before he knew exactly where they could go. Yeah, the boy would probably try to refuse, but the younger one might be able to convince him…

He held up one hand, “Alright, just give me one minute, you two.” He didn’t expect any response from the older boy, but the younger one nodded again. Roy stood up and turned to the side, pulling out his phone and dialing a number. He hoped the man would pick up, at least.

“Come on, Maes….” Roy mumbled, “You better not be asleep or I swear to god…”

\-------

Maes yawned as he took a sip of his coffee. He and Riza had slept in that day. Though most wouldn’t expect something like that from the first lieutenant, sometimes she just didn’t want to deal with the stress of work, which was entirely understandable.

He was looking at the clock in the living room when his phone had begun to ring, raising an eyebrow when he saw who was calling. 

“Hello Roy, you gonna be home soon? We miss you, you knoww…” He spoke in a very jokingly sweet tone as he looked over at Riza as she stood in the entryway, letting out a light chuckle as she moved to sit on the couch next to him.

He could see the image of Roy rolling his eyes as he responded. “Yeah, no, I know, i’m on my way back now. I’m only calling because I need..kind of a favor, I guess.”

Maes made a face of concern at that, Roy sounded strangely serious about whatever ‘favor’ this was. “Alright..What’s up? Did something happen?”

“Yes, I ran into some boys that have gotten into some trouble in Rush Valley. One of the kids is pretty injured and he doesn’t want me to take him to a doctor or anything and he doesn’t really have anywhere else to go so…”

Ah. He understood why Roy sounded vaguely concerned before. Though the Colonel doesn’t like to show it, both Maes and Riza are very aware of just how much Roy actually cares about those around him. “Alright, I don’t see a problem with you taking them here. I’ll talk to Riza about it, but I already know she’ll say yes so you can go ahead and bring them over. I’ll set up the guest room.”

“Thank you, Maes. I’m on my way now.”

“No problem, get back safely, right?”

“Right.”

And with that, he hung up. Maes let out a sigh. He would’ve liked to end the conversation with a quick ‘I love you’ but Roy likes to stay professional when on the job, and it would’ve embarrassed him to no end. He set down his phone and turned to Riza, who kept quiet the entire time, but if one looked closely they could see the concern in her eyes. He walked over and softly held her hands in his.

“Seems like we’ll be taking care of a pair of kids Roy found on the job today, that alright with you?”

It didn’t take long for her to reply, smiling at him as she did. “Of course, I can help you set up the guest room.”

Maes nodded, “Sounds like a plan.” They smiled at each other as he helped her up and they walked out of the living room.

\-------

If Edward could ask for anything at the moment, it would probably be the ability to fucking _talk_ right about now. But sometimes his brain just doesn’t let him do that, and for whatever dumb reason it decided now was going to be one of those times.

Alphonse was holding his hand, reassuring him that they’d be alright as they followed this man—Colonel Mustang, they had learned—out of Rush Valley and all the way to the train station. The Colonel had invited them to stay with him and his family, where Edward could get the help with his injuries that he needed, and Alphonse was very quick to accept the offer. He understood the reason, Alphonse cared about his well-being more than just about anything else. That didn’t stop him from being concerned, though. The Elrics weren’t really the type of kids to stay out of trouble and this man was a _military officer_. When Ed had asked why his younger brother couldn’t just get help from someone who lives in Rush Valley, Al had explained that he didn’t want to bother anyone that looked particularly busy. He also just thought that if anyone could help with that kind of situation, it would be an actual officer.

And so, the Elric brothers boarded a train to central with Colonel Roy Mustang. A trip neither of them expected to go on.

The surprise of it all drained a lot of energy from the two, and they were asleep mere minutes after boarding the train. 

\-------

Roy would never admit it, but his serious expression had softened whenever he looked at them. 

He didn’t know a damn thing about these kids but from what he could tell—the fact that they were without family or a home, the fact that he found them because one had gotten into a _fight with someone way older than him_ —they had clearly been through a lot. He sighed. The older boy seemed like a stubborn one, that might be frustrating to deal with. He’d have to learn a thing or two about automail as well, seeing as the kid had _two entire automail limbs_ . A part of him wanted to ask about them, but he wasn’t going to let his curiosity get in the way of making sure the kid felt comfortable in his home. _God,_ he was probably going to have a bit of a hard time with that as well. He didn’t have a lot of experience with taking care of kids, that was for sure. 

Maes had always wanted to be a father though, so Roy could definitely say that he’d jump at the chance to take care of the two boys, and Riza was good with kids as well. He could never explain it, but she had a sort of motherly essence, if that made any sense at all.

Yeah, they’d be good at this, they could handle this situation. It’ll be fine. Hell, maybe he could teach the boys a thing or two about alchemy! That would be fun, right?


	2. and that's fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward gets patched up, and Mustang-Hughes-Hawkeye family decides to take in some boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyy sorry this ones so short! its a little slow going right now due to me just being preoccupied and I really want to get into some later plot but!! ill get there soon. next chapter will be much longer hopefully

Riza’s the one to open the door when she hears Roy knocking, and she’s not very surprised when she sees he’s carrying one of the boys he said he’d be coming home with.

She  _ is _ concerned about the kid though. Whatever fight he got himself into, she could tell he wasn't exactly the winner (but, then again, the guy he had fought with wasn't the winner either). He had a bruise on his face and she noticed small specks of dried blood above his lip like his nose had been bleeding earlier. Looking down, she noticed the younger of the boys standing behind Roy, curiously looking inside of the house and occasionally glancing up at Riza. She offered him a small smile, though she couldn’t tell if he smiled back.

Roy carefully stepped inside, obviously trying not to disturb the sleeping boy in his arms. Riza nodded at him, “Welcome back, Roy.”

He nodded back. “Hey Riza, Maes told you about the kids, right?”

“Yep, we got the guest room ready for them earlier.” She looked down at the boy Roy was carrying. “How’s he doing?”

“He isn’t hurt  _ too _ bad, I don’t think, but he’ll probably feel pretty sore when he wakes up. Checked on the train earlier, he has a bruise on his side too.”

Riza’s eyes narrowed slightly as she made a face of concern. The kid wasn’t hurt enough to need a hospital, sure, but he was still an injured kid. That was a fact that would bother just about anyone. She was certain it was bothering Roy too, though he was worse at showing his feelings than she was. She sighed as she and Roy walked upstairs to Maes. His concern was apparent on his face as soon as he saw the boy, and he was quickly taking him from Roy’s arms and carrying him to the bathroom to tend to his injuries. The younger one following Roy and sitting next to him the entire time.

It was at this point that Riza kneeled down to face the boy and ask him questions. He refused to look her in the eye and he was fiddling with the lower half of his top, actions that reminded her a little of herself and Roy. 

“I know your brother’s condition is the main concern right now, but are you alright?” 

He nodded and she smiled softly at him. “Good, i’m glad to hear that. May I ask what your names are?”

He hesitated for a moment before nodding again.

“My name is, um, Alphonse, ma’am. My brother’s name is Edward.”

Riza nodded. “Edward and Alphonse, okay. Thank you for telling me. Now, Roy was saying you boys don’t have anywhere to stay. Is that true?”

He hesitated again. She was about to change the subject when he suddenly nodded and lowered his head. “Yeah, we don’t….We’ve been staying in Rush Valley, but we don’t actually have a home there or anything.”

She wasn’t facing them, but she could practically feel Roy and Maes frown in concern. Maes actually turned to Al, Roy taking over the job of tending to the bruise on Ed's side. “How long have you two been living that way?”

Al frowned and turned his head to the side. “A couple years now…”

All the adult’s eyes widened at that, and he noticed almost immediately. He lifted his head and waved his hands around as he spoke, “Ah, b-but it hasn’t been all that bad! Brother got the automail he needed and the people were taking real good care of it when they could! W-we weren’t bothered by it or anything, just, well…” He eventually lowered his head again, unsure of what to say.

They sat in silence for a moment, before Riza gave him another soft smile. Her gaze moved back to Ed before turning to look back at Al. 

“Even if you didn’t have a problem with living that way….I think, and these two think too, that you deserve something better than that.” She gestured to Roy and Maes, who each nodded and gave the boy soft smiles.

“I’d like you two to stay with us, even after Edward’s wounds have healed. Does that sound good to you?”

Al's eyes widened in surprise as he glanced up at each of their faces. It didn't take long for him to make his decision, turning to look at Ed for a long moment before nodding and facing Riza.

"Yes. That does sound good." He nodded at Ed. "I don't think brother will agree with me, but I think I can trust you, ma'am…"

Riza let out a small laugh at that. "That's okay Alphonse, you can talk to him about it when he wakes up."

"Yeah, I will…"

The three adults smiled at that. Remaining in a mostly comfortable silence as they sat in the bathroom. 

Edward's injuries weren't too bad at all, really the most he needed was a day in bed with ice on his bruises.

Soon enough, Roy and Maes had finished checking on his wounds and they were carrying Edward to the guest room, Riza following with Alphonse by her side.

Alphonse was asleep with Edward within the next hour, leaving the three of them to sit and think about what to do now that they've suddenly taken in two children.

**Author's Note:**

> heyy so thats it so far, i hope you liked it! i actually have a second chapter mostly written up right now, so expect that to be posted soon!
> 
> going with the plot i have for this so far, it might be a little messy sometimes (especially writing roy/maes/riza honestly, ive got no experience writing adult relationships) but bare with me writing something lengthy like this has never been a plan of mine but this is something ive been excited to write for some time now!!  
> and if its unclear what happened in the second half of this chapter, ed goes nonverbal. this probably wont happen very often in the story but its something to keep in mind i think
> 
> i dont have a lot to say right now because my brains like. empty rn. but yeah  
> also i say modern au with a slight shake of my hand because the military and past events are the same but they have mobile phones and probably walmart


End file.
